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Sunday, October 30, 2016

First it was the $1
bill and then the $2 note switching to coins in Canada, followed by the
elimination of the penny.

So, could the
nickel be facing retirement next?

Not so fast, the
government insists as an internal analysis on the pros and cons of keeping the nickel
says it will stay for now.

There are “no plans
to discontinue the nickel,” said David Barnabe of the finance department, even
though New Zealand and South Africa have eliminated the coins over the past
decade.

Even as the
purchasing power of the nickel “has eroded over time (down 40 percent over 25
years) relative both to prices and incomes,” the analysis found it is still
cost effective to mint them.

“As there are
virtually no goods or services that can be purchased for a nickel, or several
multiples thereof, the coin is generally used only to make change as part of
larger transactions,” the study reported.

The nickel entered
circulation in 1858 while the penny was dropped in 2013, leaving businesses to round
up to the nearest nickel amount.

Some Canadian
bankers suggest the nickel won’t be around five years from now.

Monday, October 10, 2016

First-time home
buyers might have to settle for less expensive houses than previously with a
tightening of Canadian mortgage lending rules.

The federal
government is moving to protect buyers from getting too deeply into debt should
interest rates begin rising.

New rules to take
effect on Oct. 17 will limit the amount home buyers can borrow so they can keep
up with their payments at higher rates.

A “stress test” will
be used for all buyers putting down less than 20 percent of the cost of the
house – a condition that previously applied only to those opting for variable
or fixed rate mortgages with renewable terms of less than five years.

It’s aimed at ensuring
buyers can make their mortgage payments and cover other costs related to home
ownership.

This happens at a
time when single detached houses in Vancouver sell for an average of $1.5 million
and $1 million in Toronto.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Spending by the Liberal
government elected last October has hit an “unprecedented rate,” a report by
the “budget watchdog” says.

Jean-Denis
Frechette, parliamentary budget officer, found that expenditures were nearly
$3.4 billion, or 5.7 percent, higher in the first quarter of the fiscal year compared
with a year earlier and the biggest increase in six years.

His report notes
the cash included an additional $1.22 billion for infrastructure-related
spending along with some leftover commitments made by the previous Conservative
government.

First-quarter
spending was $62.9 billion and also included more than $1 billion extra for
higher child-benefit payments to families.

Finance Minister
Bill Morneau said this has led to economic growth as the government promised to
spend to stimulate the economy after a Conservative decade of low growth.

“We will continue
to make those investments,” he said.

Infrastructure
Minister Amarjeet Sohi said 729 projects have been approved for funding and
more than 60 percent of them are underway.